Monday, January 15, 2007

Taming Car Insurance Costs: 90% Of Accidents Can Be Avoided

Avoiding accidents is still the best way of ensuring that your car insurance cost will remain low and contrary to popular belief, most accidents can be avoided.

Research has proved that 90% of all accidents that occur can be avoided and one just requires to be careful at all times on the road.

It has also been proved that most accidents are as a result of intersection errors which accounts for over 65% of urban accidents hence one needs to look around carefully at all intersections and proceed with caution.

Close concentration should be maintained at all times on your driving , other drivers and pedestrians not to mention being aware of the driving conditions.

Another useful tip usually taken for granted yet it can minimize the occurrence of accidents is always checking your speed and maintain that many feet in distance between your car and that immediately ahead of you.

Good car maintenance is perhaps the most effective way of minimizing accidents and regular checkups, especially of brakes, tires and wiper fluid is prudent as vehicle malfunction also contributes to accidents.

The best way of checking your car insurance cost is by avoiding accidents and having a good driving record by following these simple rules which are often overlooked or ignored with serious and sometimes fatal consequences.

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Car Insurance Discounts You Don't Know About

For those who regularly renew their car insurances annually, chances are that they have on many occasions left money on the table by simply being unaware of certain discounts. Or by not asking their brokers whether they are available little known discounts that they do not know about but which they may qualify for. That simple question can open the doors to substantial savings.

The home truth is that there are in fact plenty of discounts which most car insurance companies offer that very few people seem to be aware of. And again the vagaries of modern living have made many people have impatient tendencies even when transacting important business.

A fine example is the multi-policy discount which is the reduced rate given to drivers who also have other kinds of insurance with the same company. They could have for instance insured their homes or property.

There are also other less obvious but substantial car insurance discounts like the one given for insuring multiple vehicles. It is common sense to put all your business with one company rather than try to spread the risk with many different insurance companies, as you will qualify for a major discount in premiums. Admittedly it can be quite a challenge finding one insurance company that can give you a good deal for all your insurance needs and you are more likely to get a better deal from a specialist. However finding a single perfect-for-most-of-your-needs-insurer is not impossible. It will just take a lot of work and patience on your side.

Other discounts available are for instance, age, abstainers from alcohol, drivers' education, anti theft devices and distance to college car insurance discounts (which usually applies to students) among others.

Here's How People Lose Money On Their Car Insurance

Could you have overlooked a few things that could dramatically cut down on your car insurance premiums? Could there be a thing or two that you've missed?

Did you know for instance that driving less than a certain number of miles or kilometers every year could get you a discount on premiums from some insurance companies? This is popularly known as low mileage or distance discount rating. Have you ever heard of something like this? Sometimes this discount can be pegged on certain distances driven to and from work. Ask your insurance company if they have such an arrangement.

Many people do not take car insurance into consideration when they move yet it is important that they do. The right neighborhood (in the eyes of the car insurance company) can save you plenty of cash on your premiums.

Another thing that most people do not know is that two different models from the same manufacturer can be rated differently which could make a difference in the amount of car insurance premium to be paid. In fact even the difference between two and four doors in the same car model can affect your premiums considerably.

There are quite a number of small details which are frequently overlooked or ignored yet they can make all the difference when it comes to the cost of insurance premiums and one should critically study an auto insurance package before opting to go for it.

The golden rule when seeking car insurance cover should be are you doing all that you can do to keep your car insurance costs down? Could there be some things that you have not considered that could save you even a couple of dollars?

Car Insurance Premiums: Obvious And Simple Ways To Save Money

There are obvious and simple ways in which substantial amounts can be saved on your car insurance. Here are a few you can implement immediately.

To start with, you will have to raise your deductible. Many people strive to lower the deductible so that when they make a claim, they will pay as little as possible from their pocket. Deductible is the amount paid when you make a claim and before the insurance company pays. When you raise the deductible, you will save on your car insurance premiums every year. Admittedly, in case you have to make a claim, you will pay out a higher amount to your insurance company before your claim is settled. It should however be noted that claims are not made every year and even if you have to make a claim five or six years down the line, after saving money by raising your deductible for a number of years, you will still be miles ahead.

Secondly, if you are driving an older car, you can save a lot on your vehicle insurance by dropping your collision and comprehensive insurance cover. The golden rule here is to start by determining the value of your car.

In most cases, the money paid for deductibles added to the insurance may not be more than the value of the car so avoiding comprehensive coverage altogether and dropping the collision insurance component could make a lot of sense in this case and save you lots of cash.

Buying a low profile car, which is not attractive to thieves, is another way of saving money on your car insurance. Vehicles that are known to be popular with thieves will not only cost you more in car insurance but will also place your family at risk.

Buying Car Insurance Online Will Always Save You Money

In a world where everybody is looking for the best bargains, buying your car insurance online will always make lots of sense and cents and you are bound to find it easier to save a lot of money on your car insurance premiums.

In the offline days, it would take a lot of time and money shuttling around from one insurer to the other but in this wonderful online age, it is easy to get lots of quotations quickly which in itself saves lots of money for most people as it makes it easier to find the most cost effective quotation possible.

Online distribution of products and services is the in thing today and the car insurance business is no exception as this cuts down the cost dramatically with most insurers only too happy to transfer these savings to their clients which in turn enables them to sell even more at reduced rates. There are few traditional industries that have had as high middlemen costs as the insurance field has. In many instances over 50 per cent of the premium paid for insurance offline usually goes to middlemen commissions. This gives you an idea of the kind of savings that can accrue online.

Information is power and armed with plenty of it, and easily available expert advice, it is impossible to make costly mistakes when it comes to selecting the ideal car insurance cover.

In the offline days because of the hard work required to shop for insurance quotes, the tendency was to go for all insurance needs under one roof. Though this could be an advantage in some cases in that you will probably get a discount, more often than not the truth is that more often than not, you are bound to get the best deal from the specialist. The World Wide Web has made it very easy to shop for separate specialist insurers enabling people get the best deal possible for their car insurance.

Avoid Nasty Car Insurance Surprises: How Discussion Forums Can Help

Discussion forums are a good way of avoiding car insurance trouble or nasty car insurance surprises on the day you make a claim. And we have the World Wide Web revolution to thank for this.

These discussion forums are places on the web where you can participate and learn a great deal by asking questions, leaving comments about your experiences or even giving your own experience, which is bound to benefit others. This is also a wonderful place for experts to show off their expertise and in the process get to be known by potential future clients. So everybody is happy while you get world-class consultancy services for free.

Frequent visitors to these forums will end up getting advice from numerous experts as well as reading dozens of different practical experiences from others. This is important as car insurance is one of those fields where a lot of things can go wrong and do go wrong. Let alone the numerous potential dangers that come with online car insurance shopping. The home truth is that online shopping for insurance is on the increase, which is due to its convenience. However for you to benefit, you need lots of information.

Forums will help you identify the dangers and pitfalls in the car insurance market and also assist you in making an informed decision when looking out for the ideal car insurance package for you and your particular needs.

Most people do not understand what discussion forums are let alone what they have to do with car insurance, but again one just has to appreciate them and it will totally change their outlook towards the car insurance business as a whole.

Car Insurance Claims: Is It Profits That You Seek?

It is common belief among most car insurance policy holders that in the event of a claim, they will make big profits from the compensation they receive from insurers. Nothing can be further from the truth.

Insurance is not about the policyholder making money from their misfortune and it is important to appreciate the fact that if your old car is completely wrecked in an accident, it is wishful thinking to expect the insurance company to replace it with a brand new car. Once you understand this, it will save you lots of heartache and disappointment in the event of a crash.

In spite of faithfully paying your premiums, if your vehicle is badly wrecked in an accident, the insurer has to consider the issue of betterment and depreciation or the wear and tear of the car since it was first insured. In reality this means you will have to top up the difference to get back the car you had when you first insured, let alone a brand new one.

Insurance is about protection and not profit, a fact many policyholders fail to appreciate yet it is the basic insurance principal not only for cars but everything that has to be insured.

The general idea here is to try and make things the way they were before the accident and not to enable you make a killing after an accident. If that was the case,
The temptation to cause an accident for the sake of making a profit would just be too great.

It is therefore totally unrealistic for you to expect an insurance company to replace your five-year-old jalopy with a new one in the event of a serious accident, that's not what car insurance is all about.